COMOROS: National Laws

Summary: General overview of Comoros' national legal provisions on children's rights, including guidance on how to conduct further research.

National laws on children's rights

Status of the CRC in national law

Article 18 of the Constitution of Comoros provides that regularly ratified or approved treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, are part of national law. In principle, treaties have superior force to domestic legislation. It is not clear whether the Convention has been cited in domestic courts. 

Constitution: the preamble to the Constitution of Comoros includes a number of rights provisions that apply regardless of age, but only a small number of provisions throughout the Constitution make explicit reference to children:

• The preamble: proclaims the right of each child to an education and to instruction by the State, by the parents and by teachers chosen by parents. The provision also asserts the right of the child to protection, particularly that specified by international conventions regularly ratified.

• Article 39: includes the organisation of education and the fundamental principles of organisation of youth policy within the powers of the Federal Assembly. 

Legislation: there is no comprehensive or consolidated Children's Code in the laws of Comoros, rather provisions in relation to children can be found in a number of Codes, Acts and Orders. Legislation of particular relevance to children includes, but is by no means limited to:

• The Criminal Code

• The Civil Code

• The Family Code

• The Labour Code

• The Nationality Code (instituted by Act No. 79-12/PR of 27 February 1980)

• The Health and Social Welfare Code (contained in Act No. 95-013/AF)

• Act No. 84-10/AF of 15 May 1984, the Civil Status Act

• Act No. 75-04/ANP of 29 July 1975 on the retention of French statutory provisions

• Act No. 88-14 of 29 December 1988 on education

• Order No. 66/84/IT-C of 22 January 1996 on the conditions of night work for women and children in industry 

Legal Research

The website of the National Assembly (http://www.auc.km/#) includes a section of the site dedicated to Bills and adopted legislation, but at the time of writing, this section did not provide access to the texts of legislation. The Constitution (rev. 2009) is available in English through the Constitute website (https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Comoros_2009). The International Labour Organisation website, NATLEX, provides access to a selection of legislation in French (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.country?p_lang=en&p_country=COM) as does the World Law Guide (http://www.lexadin.nl/wlg/legis/nofr/oeur/lxwecom.htm). In addition, the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/2689.html) and the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/comoros.php) both provide access to a selection of legal and governmental resources.

Case Law

CRC Jurisprudence

Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in national courts that reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Case Law Research

Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any online resources that provide access to the decisions of the courts of Comoros.

Compliance with the CRC

Comoros has not reported to the Committee on the Rights of the Child since 2000, which means that many of the Committee's recommendations during that session may now be out of date. As of 2000, however, the Committee noted that the State had undertaken a review of its legislation with regards to its compatibility with the Convention. However, the Committee expressed concern about the lack of harmonisation of domestic law with the Convention and that the State had experienced difficulties in adopting new or amended legislation, such as the draft Family Code. The Family Code has been enacted since this recommendation. The Committee urged the State to address these deficits by amending legislation and harmonising all branches of law, including traditional, Islamic and civil law, with the Convention.

In depth analysis

The Committee also raised a number of more specific concerns about children's rights in domestic law. With regards to the definition of the child, the Committee urged the State to address the absence of legal age of majority in national law and the lack of a uniform minimum legal age for marriage for boys and girls.

The prevalence of abuse and neglect of children within the State, including sexual abuse within and outside the family, were also issues raised in the Committee's Observations. While noting that the draft Family Code contained provisions aimed at protecting the dignity of the child, the Committee noted that corporal punishment in the home was socially and legally accepted, while physical punishment was a matter of course in Koranic schools. The Committee urged the State to combat child abuse and ill-treatment of children including by enacting a specific prohibition on the use of corporal punishment within the family and at school.

With regards to the juvenile justice system, the Committee expressed concern about the limited measures taken with regards to children in conflict with the law and in particular highlighted the detention of children in prisons with adults, the deteriorating living conditions in detention centres and the absence of rehabilitation programmes. The corresponding recommendations focused on bringing the justice system into conformity with the international standards for children in conflict with the law.

Current legal reform projects

Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects.